Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

the hike down would take too long. Colin had called for help, for backup in taking Buck in, but not for medical assistance.

Hiking behind them she listened as Colin explained about Buck. That he could be dead or he could have escaped.

Oh, Meral! How would Jewel tell her sister? She would be devastated. After their argument, Meral could still believe Buck was innocent, and the blame for this would fall on Jewel.

Then she remembered Buck’s words. I never work alone.

A chill ran over her, adding to the cold that had seeped into her bones. She glanced at the woods around them as they hiked. Was someone out there watching?

This wasn’t over yet.

Colin sat in the park ranger’s office off the glacier visitor center, wrapped in a blanket and drinking hot coffee. Considering that he had nearly drowned, he thought he was past the worst of it. He’d let the ranger use the GSW kit on his superficial wound until he could get real medical attention.

No time for that yet.

The trooper stepped into the room. “We found a body that matches your description. His hands were cuffed. He seems to have drowned.”

Colin hung his head. “He never had a chance.”

Jewel entered the small room, her eyes red rimmed. The fierce need to comfort and protect her rose up in him. Why had he ever denied himself loving this woman? The battle with Buck and then the waterfall had opened his eyes. Losing his life until she had revived him, the excuses he’d made before seemed just that. Excuses. But...she was a wealthy woman far out of his league. Colin had been out of his league before with Katelyn, and it hadn’t ended well. He would do what was best and walk away from anything more with Jewel. They were not finished with this business, and Colin needed to keep his head in the game.

“We need to tell Meral. How are we going to tell her?” Jewel asked.

The authorities were trying to locate The Alabaster Sky, which had pulled anchor and disappeared.

Colin had already given his statement, as had Jewel, but there was one thing he’d forgotten. He stood and let the blanket drop. “Cambridge said he didn’t work alone.”

Silence filled the small office as the words sank in. The ranger sitting across from him scratched his chin.

“But that doesn’t mean it was Meral,” Jewel pleaded. “When he first captured me, he said he had drugged her. That she had slept through all the incidents. That she was clueless. She isn’t his partner.”

No. Just his wife.

“Regardless, we need to tell her what’s happened to her husband.” Colin eyed Jewel. Telling someone they had lost a loved one was the worst part of being a police officer. “And maybe we can find out the truth, including the identities of Buck’s accomplice or accomplices. But you need to stay vigilant, Jewel. Your life could still be in danger.”

And he knew that well enough from his past.

Ryan, the police officer who assisted Colin, rushed back into the office. “We’ve located The Alabaster Sky docked at Alder’s Bay.” He nodded at Jewel and Colin. “I’ll transport you there.”

“Wait,” Colin said.

“What are you thinking?” Jewel asked.

“The yacht has to be waiting to rendezvous with Buck. I hadn’t suspected the crew, but now I don’t know if the crew or the captain is involved in his crimes or not. This could be our chance to find out.”

“Buck planned to take me back so I could show him where I’d hid the diamond. Other than tearing the boat apart, I don’t know how he would have found it.”

“What’s your plan?” Ryan asked.

“I’ll return to the yacht and gather the staff and Meral and tell them what’s happened,” Colin said. “We’ll see how they react. If you wouldn’t mind sticking around, maybe you can catch anyone who tries to leave. In the meantime, can you get someone to run a background on the crew of The Alabaster Sky? See who might have any connection to Buck Cambridge.”

“I’m going, too,” Jewel said. “This is my sister. I want to be there for her.”

Colin hung his head, wondering if Jewel would ever forgive him for his next words. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Jewel. Despite what you believe, Meral could still be party to Buck’s crimes.”

Her eyes blazed. “Look. I know my sister, okay? She isn’t capable of this.”

He didn’t have the heart to remind her that she hadn’t known her sister for at least the past twenty years of her life. “I hope you’re right, Jewel. For your sake, I hope you’re right. But we can’t ignore that possibility, and in that case, you’re vulnerable. She could threaten your life to save her own.”

His words cut her. He could see it in her eyes, but they had to be said.

With a deep frown in her brow, she rubbed her arms and averted her gaze. But she said nothing in response. She knew it was true.

With his words he’d begun to sever his emotional connection to Jewel. He could see it in her eyes. Nearly losing himself, everything that had happened, had him vulnerable and willing to let himself love. But he’d come to his senses. He couldn’t let himself get any closer.

Caring too much for Jewel had kept him from pressing for answers from the start. If he had just pushed harder, found out about the diamond earlier, then maybe Buck would be in jail instead of dead, and Jed would still be alive. Getting emotionally involved just caused problems.

Back in Texas he was too close to the witness in a case, and he’d kept that under wraps because his chief would have taken the case from him. But he’d fallen in love with her and had wanted to be close and keep his hands on the investigation. To make sure things were done right and she was safe, he’d told himself. And all along, he’d had his eyes on the wrong man.

That had cost her her life.

A